A Part of Life
by skelesona
Summary: Mettaton takes Papyrus to the beach for the first time, and Papyrus is feeling a little self-conscious.


Ah, the beach. Mettaton loved the beach almost as much as he loved himself. The sound of the ocean, the smell of the salty sea air, the people, the chance to show off his gorgeous body even more than usual—what wasn't there to love about it?

The only thing he loved more than the beach was his sweet boyfriend, Papyrus. Putting them together made for one rather ecstatic Mettaton. Papyrus had never had time to go to a beach before, and Mettaton was more than happy to drag him around and show him all the sights.

He was humming happily as he and Papyrus brought all of their beach things out of the car and set off across the hot sand. Finding a good spot close to the water, he began to set up his chair, only to notice Papyrus was still far behind him, moving rather slowly and uncertainly.

A little concerned, Mettaton walked back to him. "You alright, sweetheart?"

Papyrus had been looking around at all the people—the children playing, adults sunbathing and swimming and eating ice cream. They all looked like they were having fun, and Papyrus wanted to have fun, too…

But he noticed that all the men had their shirts off, and the idea of taking his own off was making him feel a little nauseous.

"Oh, I'm fine," he said, not wanting to worry Mettaton with anything when they were supposed to be having a good time.

But Mettaton was skeptical, and his suspicions were confirmed when they got back to their spot. Mettaton pulled off his shirt and saw Papyrus look away unhappily as the sun reflected off his shiny metal chassis. "Okay, babe, something's bothering you. What's up?"

"I'm fine, really."

"No, you're not." Mettaton slung an arm around Papyrus's shoulders. "You usually love getting an eyeful of me without a shirt on. Talk to me."

"I—okay. I really—I want to fit in with everybody else… but… my bones aren't perfect," Papyrus tried to explain.

Mettaton didn't understand. "What?"

"I mean—" Papyrus shrugged off Mettaton's arm. "I kind of want to take my shirt off like everyone else, but… my bones aren't pretty to look at—lots of cracks and discoloration and things." He tried to smile weakly and scratched his arm, looking away. "I wouldn't want to ruin the good image of the Great Papyrus."

"Oh, darling…" Mettaton sat and pulled Papyrus down onto the sand next to him. "You don't have to worry about that. You look fine. Nobody will care."

"But… next to you, I just look…" _Ugly_ was the only word Papyrus could think of.

"Well…" Mettaton laughed a little. "I mean, my body is made exactly the way I want it to look—most people and monsters can't do that with their bodies. And besides, who's to say there aren't any nicks and scratches on me? Maybe they're just so small they can't be seen."

Papyrus did not seem convinced.

"There's no rule that says you have to take off your shirt at the beach, Papy. Plenty of men wear them in the water. But… I really don't want you to feel ugly," said Mettaton, guessing what was on Papyrus's mind. "Imperfections… that's just what bodies have. Look around, none of these people look perfect."

Papyrus glanced around discreetly, and soon he began to see that Mettaton was right—the humans around them had all kinds of marks on them. Scratches, bruises, stretch marks, scars—almost everyone had something. And none of them seemed bothered by it. He looked back at Mettaton.

"See?" Mettaton said kindly. "Getting marks on your body is just a part of life. Those cracks in your bones—they just mean you've lived."

Papyrus nodded, uncharacteristically quiet.

Mettaton kissed his cheekbone, stroked his skull, and stood. "I'm going to see how cool the water is. You decide what you want to do—I'll support you either way. Just remember you're always beautiful to me."

Papyrus watched him walk down to the tideline. How wonderful and confident he looked… Papyrus wanted to look like that, too.

And, he realized, he already did.

With a smile, he stood and pulled off his shirt, and ran to catch up to Mettaton. He jumped on the robot from behind, causing them both to fall into the rather chilly water. After recovering quickly, Mettaton saw that Papyrus had made his decision and scooped him up in his arms. Papyrus wrapped his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck, putting their foreheads together.

"Feeling beautiful?" Mettaton asked.

"Yep!" Papyrus smiled.

Mettaton kissed that smile. "Wonderful, darling. Now let's have some fun, hm?"

Papyrus nodded happily.

Already, he was starting to love the beach, too.


End file.
